Heretofore many efforts have been made to provide toothbrushes that have some type of integral toothpaste supply means associated therewith whereby one can provide a small amount of toothpaste for direct use in association with the brush. Usually the brush and toothpaste storage and dispenser means are formed into a compact unit and in some instances have been made with replaceable toothpaste carrier cartridges for use in association with a brush head.
Three categories of these types of products are:
1. Totally disposable toothbrushes wherein the entire product is disposed of after the toothpaste in the product is exhausted as is illustrated in prior art U.S. Pat. No. 4,521,128.
2. Refillable toothbrushes wherein the user refills the unit using a standard toothpaste tube as illustrated in prior art U.S. Pat. No. 4,332,497.
3. Disposable cartridge type toothbrushes where the toothpaste supply is replenished by discarding the spent cartridge and replacing it with a factory filled new cartridge as typically described in prior art U.S. Pat. No. 1,563,190.
Limited customer appeal of these products is evidence of deficiencies which may seem subtle but for a convenience item such as this are very significant factors. Examples of these deficiencies which greatly affect customer appeal are:
1. Toothbrushes that require the user to refill the product using a standard toothpaste tube. This requirement is highly inconvenient to the user and typically results in a mess requiring cleanup due to toothpaste leakage or resulting from the user handling components coated with toothpaste. This is illustrated in prior art U.S. Pat. No. 2,587,794.
2. Messy buildup of spent toothpaste that requires the user to clean the device when changing cartridges or refilling the device or simply accepting an unsanitary appearing condition. This type of problem is illustrated in prior art U.S. Pat. No. 1,451,941 wherein seepage around the threaded connection of the cartridge paste tube within its handle enclosure would cause the problem especially since the enclosing handle must be reused.
3. Absence of complete closure of the product including bristles results in a condition of wet bristles after use which is an undesirable condition especially when the user wishes to place it in a pocket or purse after use. This problem is illustrated in prior art U.S. Pat. No. 1,563,190.
4. Absence of high grade bristles of a stiffness and texture of typical toothbrushes. This type of product is illustrated in prior art U.S. Pat. No. 4,521,128.
5. Absence of sufficient toothpaste storage in the product to provide the user with a maximal number of brushings while maintaining a minimal product volume. This problem is illustrated in prior art U.S. Pat. No. 4,521,128 wherein the toothpaste is inefficiently utilized due to its expulsion at the base rather than near the top of the bristles and wherein a significant amount of unused toothpaste is trapped in the handle storage area.
6. Lack of providing a sufficient number of brushings to convey adequacy to the user. It is felt that a product of this type should provide 20 or more brushings.
The general object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved toothbrush with a self contained prefilled disposable and replaceable self contained paste storage section containing a controllable flow member for expelling toothpaste from the disposable portion to near the top of the bristles thereof and wherein when the product is not in use the bristle end is capped to form a sanitary compact pen-like appearance free from contamination of the users pocket or purse.
Another object of this invention is to provide minimum product size while maximizing the number of brushings provided by the cartridge by expelling the toothpaste near the top of the bristles and by utilizing an expulsion concept which effectively ejects a high percentage of the stored toothpaste to the bristle tops, by utilizing a disposable cartridge that acts both as the cartridge and whose outer shell For example, the toothbrush of this invention provides 30 brushings when each brushing uses 0.013. cubic inches of toothpaste. Use of the product has shown that this amount of toothpaste provides the user with ample toothpaste because it is deposited near the top of the bristles. While providing this large amount of brushings the total product volume is low and it is very compact. The outside diameter of the cartridge in a preferred embodiment is 0.52 inches and the total length of the disposable cartridge is 3.3 inches. The overall length of the product is 5.9 inches with the protective cap in place.
A further object of this invention is to provide a self contained prefilled and disposable toothbrush as described above but which provides the user with the option to discard the entire product after the toothpaste is spent.
Another object of this invention is to utilize toothpaste that does not readily dry and cause blockage of flow cavities and hence eliminates the need for the provision of cumbersome caps or plugs. A toothpaste of this type has a glycerin base, one current brand name of which is Colgate Winter Fresh Gel. Many typical toothpastes readily harden and render products having flow channels inoperative. This problem is described in prior art U.S. Pat. No. 4,332,497 which provides a complex plug stopper arrangement to minimize it.
Another object of the invention is to provide an improved paste dispenser system in a brush and toothpaste storage article and wherein the pressure piston in the apparatus can only be moved forwardly in the storage chamber and no retraction movement of the piston is possible. This feature prevents inadvertent reverse rotation of the piston screw which would allow air to be drawn into the toothpaste past the piston. Entrapped air would cause an objectionable weeping flow of toothpaste from the dispensing end after the product is used.
The foregoing and other objects and advantages of the present invention will be more apparent as the specification proceeds.
Reference now is made to the accompanying drawings, wherein:
FIG. 1 is a sectional view of the toothbrush and toothpaste dispenser and bristle cap of the unit of the invention;
FIG. 2 is a fragmentary vertical section through the connector end of the toothbrush head and the discharge end of the toothpaste storage dispenser;
FIG. 3 is a fragmentary vertical section through the dispenser control end of the toothpaste storage chamber or container;
FIG. 4 is an enlarged longitudinal section through the plastic frame for the brush head of the article of the invention;
FIG. 5 is a bottom plan of the article of FIG. 4;
FIG. 6 is an end elevation of the article of FIG. 4 taken on line 6--6 thereof;
FIG. 7 is a vertical section taken on line 7--7 of FIG. 4;
FIG. 8 is a vertical section taken on line 8--8 of FIG. 4;
FIG. 9 is a right side elevation taken on line 9--9 of FIG. 4;
FIG. 10 is a top plan of the brush head of the article of the invention;
FIG. 11 is a fragmentary vertical section through the brush head of FIG. 10 as taken on line 11--11 thereof;
FIG. 12 is a fragmentary vertical section of the closed end of the toothpaste storage container;
FIG. 13 is a right end elevation of the article of FIG. 12;
FIG. 14 is a left side view of the control disk for the toothpaste storage container; and
FIG. 15 is a vertical section through the control disk for end cap provided for the toothpaste storage container.